Brief Profile:
I spent a lot of time on here, so I'll try to be as thorough as possible without giving away too much.
Traditional student, Ohio resident I took the 2015 MCAT: 519, 130/131/128/130 Not technically URM, but could be considered "diverse" by some schools (and fall within URM definition for at least one).
Extra Curriculars: -Research: 2 years in lab, several poster presentation + awards, thesis (1300 hrs) -Multicultural club president & co-founder (150 hrs) -Public health internship (180 hrs) -Peer health educator (135 hrs) -Peer research mentor (160 hrs) -Worked various jobs -Hospital volunteering (~100 hrs) -Various shadowing (~230 hrs)
// Applications //
Application Cycle One: 06/06/2016
Undergraduate college: Large State School
Undergraduate Area of study: Biological/Life Sciences
Total MCAT SCORE: 522
MCAT Section Scores:
B/B 129,
C/P 132,
CARS 132
Overall GPA: 3.72
Science GPA: 3.65
Summary of Application Experience
Basic Timeline:
6/7: AMCAS Submitted 6/27-7/30: Secondaries submitted. Turnaround time ranged from 0-25 days (median = 10). 7/30: Complete at all schools 8/3-9/11: Received interviews from Pitt, Cincinnati, Case Western, the Cleveland Clinic, and Ohio State 8/31-10/12: Attended above interviews, received II from Illinois 10/17: Accepted(!!) to Cincinnati, deferred at Ohio State (boo) 11/5: Accepted to Case Western! 11/9: Withdrew from Illinois 11/29, 12/14: II, interview at Temple 12/29: Sent in updates to Northwestern, Mt Sinai, Michigan, Ohio State, Pitt, and the Cleveland Clinic 1/30: Accepted to Pitt and Temple! 1/25-2/8: Rejected or withdrew from all remaining pre-II schools (8 schools)
Summary of Experience:
Got a bunch of silence from here (no portal?), which was a little surprising given I grew up in Toledo. Wouldn't attend over Case/Cincinnati
Summary of Experience:
9/27 - The scheduling process is annoying as hell. There were no dates open when I was first offered an invite, and when I called they told me that dates would continue to be opened and to "check the website several times a day," because spots at the Chicago campus tend to go within an hour or two. It just seems unprofessional and disorganized and IMO reflects badly upon a school that I wasn't super excited about in the first place.
11/9 - After a lot of thought and 2 accepts, I withdrew prior to attending the interview. I loved the idea of attending med school in Chicago and UIC has a lot of interesting specialized programs that make me sad to see it go, but ultimately it doesn't have the research focus that I want and the price tag ($75k/year OOS, holy sh*t) just doesn't make sense for me. The fact that they were so adamant that I couldn't reschedule my interview also made me wonder how responsive the administration was going to be. Oh well, thanks for believing in me UIC.
Summary of Experience:
I looooved this school. Lerner is definitely it's own beast; there's just no other program like it. Even besides the required research year and two research summers, Lerner has no formal grades, exams, or class rank, and most learning takes place via PBL or small group seminars. Actually learning the material is very much self-directed, though from all the group work time it's easy to see how the social pressure to be up to par could be intense. Instead of letter grades you'll receive targeted feedback from your instructors. In all students said it took some major getting used to, but in the end it worked out for the better (the M5 I spoke with gave it a parcularly glowing review). Students don't have any trouble on the Step 1. This is definitely a program that favors the self-directed learner, and if you're someone who benefits some hand-holding or would be uncomfortable receiving very targeted criticism, this isn't the place for you.
The interview day was long but I never felt tired until I was sitting in the car at the end of the day. The morning was mostly spent showing off the school, with presentations on the curriculum and student outcomes, etc. There were only 4 of us (they said 4-6 is typical) and over an hour of time with students, so make sure to have plenty of questions! I had all of mine answered several times over, and then some. Students in general liked Cleveland and loved Lerner. The tour lasted over an hour, because Lerner is physically within the larger Cleveland Clinic and they obviously wanted to show off as much of the hospital system as they could. The actual school space is very small, pretty much only a hallway, but it was really cool to take a skybridge and be in a bustling hospital lobby. Another thing unique to Lerner is that they use "fresh" cadavers: no formaldehyde or any chemical treatment, which was actually somewhat shocking to see without much warning. The hospitals are beautiful, of course, and our guide spent a lot of time pointing out the music, art, architecture, and abundance of staff that all contribute towards making visitors feel relaxed. The only complaint I have is that the Clinic doesn't have a Level 1 trauma center, and my guide couldn't really speak to how you could get that kind of experience. She did spend a lot of time talking about how the Clinic really prizes innovation (she was BME faculty) and the huge amount of patents that come out of there each year.
The interviews themselves were somewhat intense, not least because there were three practically back-to-back with very short breaks. All of mine went over, which I took to be a good sign. My first interviewer (PhD) spent a lot of time examining the weaknesses of my application and character traits, which made for a challenging interview. The other two (MD and student) were more relaxed; I think it depends on the interviewer, though there were several tough "situational" questions that each was required to ask. Overall I spoke less about the specifics of my research than I expected to and more about my personality and leadership. I got the sense that they're invested in putting together a certain type of class.
Overall this is definitely one of my top choices, and I hope to be hearing good news this December!
12/30 - Waitlist decision. Not really sure what this means since last year they didn't give out waitlists until after the February decision round, but I'm glad it's not a rejection!
March - Second Look invitation! Really trying to not let this give me too much hope, but this is super exciting!!
Summary of Experience:
4/11: Withdrawing. I was very disappointed by the total lack of LGBT health opportunities here, which in comparison to many of the other schools I looked at really made it stand out in a negative way. I did receive a small (<$10k/year) scholarship here, but with the unsubsidized loans and money received elsewhere this isn't a great financial choice either.
Summary of Experience:
11/5 - I AM SO EXCITED!!!! Out of all the schools I've interviewed at I really felt like I fit in with the study body and school atmosphere the most. All the students I met with were so down to earth and relaxed, but still had time to devote to research and other activities. As of now this is definitely one of my top choices.
Summary of Experience:
4/4 - Withdrew. I really liked this school's attitude towards social justice and the underserved (the faculty I interviewed with here were phenomenal and by far the best interactions I had with faculty), but ultimately I felt that the curriculum, research opportunities, and overall fit (not to mention finances) wasn't as strong as with other schools I was accepted to. Additionally, I had to miss this Second Look for another school's, which really would have been their last chance to sway me. I'll be remembering here for residency!
Summary of Experience:
TBH the major reason I applied to Cincinnatti is because I'm in state, but I must say I was pleasantly surprised. The campus is pretty and interesting and surrounded (at least on the side I saw) by restaurants and shops. The medical school building itself is really beautiful and modern and, more importantly, has so many amenities. They have food options (though students said running across the street to the hospital was preferable), a large library, student lounge, gym (with sauna!), and even nap rooms. And study space. I felt like everywhere we turned there were more spaces to study, most of them in nice quiet areas with plenty of light, and there was even a med student only study lounge. The impression I got throughout the day was that the administration really cared about working for student success, including taping all lectures and providing required textbooks free of charge as ebooks (!!!). There were so many little amenities and every student I spoke to, of which there were many, spoke about the collaborative nature of the student body. Overall it seemed like a school with happy students. Having such a strong pediatric hospital and many different concentrations and track options to customize your education were also major pluses.
My one complaint was that whenever I asked about research I got the sense that most people only do it between M1 and M2 and maybe a small project during clinical years, and only gunners have significant commitments to their labs. The student I had lunch with seemed to especially think this, and was asking me why I wasn't pursuing an MD/PhD or whether I wanted to pursue a competitive residency. This was sort of jarring after sitting through a presentation on their wonderful research resources, but I'm thinking it could just be the specific students that I asked. If admitted I'll revisit the topic at second look, because research is something I'm genuinely interested in pursuing.
I'm still conflicted over how I feel about the MMI. I believe that it mitigates bias, but six minutes is just so darn short to spend with an interviewer. Compared to traditional interviews I felt like the MMI interviewers only got to see me at a very surface level. The questions were mostly designed to see my personality or communication, and there wasn't an ethics questions. I think it went positively, but it's hard to be sure with so many interviewers. Overall I was pleasantly surprised by Cincy and will be eagerly waiting a decision on Oct 15th!
